Old TestamentBeginner II · Story 15Esther 4:1-17; Esther 5:1-14

The Fast and the Feast

Mordecai puts on sackcloth when the king and Haman give a commandment to destroy the Jews, and he sends word to Esther. She asks her people to fast, goes in to the king and invites him and Haman to a banquet of wine. Haman is angry with Mordecai. Read the story in simple English.

Start this storyStory + 4 lessons · ~42 min · free

A long table with cups of wine and bowls of food stands ready for a banquet, and nobody is there

The words in this story

12 words you will really use: they appear in the story and in the exercises, and come back for review in the next stories.

commandment
a rule that someone tells you to obey
noun
sackcloth
a very rough cloth, like the cloth of a sack
noun
law
a rule that people must follow
noun
queen
the wife of a king, or a woman who rules a country
noun
banquet
a big meal, with food and drink, for guests
noun
think
to use your head and have an idea about something
verb
remain
to stay in the same place or in the same way
verb
perish
to die, especially in a sad or terrible way
verb
hold
to keep in the hands; hold out: to put something forward in the hand
verb
present
in a place; here, and not away
adjective
prepare
to make something ready for later
verb
rich
having a lot of money or things; the noun form means the money and things themselves
adjective

What you'll discover

The moments of the story, in the order they happen.

Mordecai puts on sackcloth and sends word to Esther: go in to the king.
Esther says anyone who goes in without a call must die. Mordecai says she will perish if she is silent.
Esther asks her people in Susa to fast for her. She goes in, and the king holds out the scepter.
The king asks what Esther would like, and she prepares a banquet of wine for him and Haman.
Haman is angry with Mordecai, tells his friends about his riches and makes a gallows.

Original verse

The verse that closes the story, in the World English Bible. After 4 lessons, this is how you read it: the real text, with nothing simplified.

Esther 4:16 · WEB

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Susa, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”

Context

One detail about the scene, with the work it comes from.

The world of the story

Why did Mordecai stay outside the king's gate? Esther 4:2 says that no one was allowed inside the gate in sackcloth.

Source: World English Bible · Public domain

What a story looks like

First the whole story, in simple English with audio for every sentence. Then 4 short lessons, each with a piece of the story, a tip and exercises. At the end, the Bible verse and a little celebration.

The story · 17 sentences, with the meaning of each word on tap, 3 quick questions about the story
4 lessons · a piece of the story, a tip and exercises in each one
The original verse · the Bible text, unadapted, then the next story

Questions about this story

Which Bible passage is this story from?

Esther 4 and 5, in the World English Bible.

What does the law of the court say?

Anyone who comes in without being called must die, unless the king holds out the golden scepter (Esther 4:11).

What does Esther say about her plan?

She asks the Jews of Susa to fast for her, and she says: if I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16).

What does the king ask Esther?

He asks what she would like and what her request is, even to the half of the kingdom (Esther 5:3).

What does Haman do at the end of this reading?

He is angry with Mordecai, tells his friends and his wife about his riches, and makes a gallows (Esther 5:9-14).

How close is it to the Bible?

It follows Esther 4 and 5 in order, in short sentences. It leaves out the servant who carries the words, the ashes and the mourning in the provinces (4:3-9), the thirty days (4:11), the help that Mordecai says will come from another place (4:14), the three days of the fast (4:16), the second question at the banquet and the second invitation (5:6-8), and the height of the gallows (5:14). The real verses at the end are Esther 4:16, 4:17 and 5:3.

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